Seattle Mariners pitcher Edwin Diaz works against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. Seattle won 6-3. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
By Jerry Feitelberg
Oakland- The Seattle Mariners rallied in the bottom of the seventh to beat the A’s and Daniel Mengden 6-3 Tuesday night at the Coliseum. The game was the last night game of the season, and the A’s were hoping to get a win for their starter Daniel Mengden. Mengden entered the game with a streak of sixteen consecutive scoreless innings. He increased it to nineteen, but the Mariners broke through in the fourth on a two-run dinger by former A’s favorite Yonder Alonso. The Mariners sent their best pitcher, James Paxton, out to pitch. Paxton gave up a solo homer to Marcus Semien and a two-run blast to Khris Davis. Paxton would have been the losing pitcher had the M’s not rallied. Each team hit two home runs in the contest. However, the Mariners homers produced five runs while the A’s blasts netted them just three. The game summary follows below.
The A’s put one on the board in the bottom of the first when shortstop Marcus Semien led off with his ninth homer of the season to give the A’s a 1-0 advantage.
The Mariners scored two in the fourth to snap Mengden’s nineteen innings of scoreless ball. With one out, Mariners’ DH Nelson Cruz singled. The next hitter, former A’s first baseman Yonder Alonso, blasted his career-high twenty-seventh homer to give the M’s a 2-1 lead. Alonso also homered Monday night against his former team.
The A’s regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Jed Lowrie singled to start the rally. The next hitter, Khris “Khrush” Davis hit a towering fly to deep right-center field that went over the 388-foot marker and landed in the seats about twenty rows back. Mariners’ manager Scott Servais removed Paxton from the game and brought in Emilio Pagan to pitch.
The Mariners plated four runs on four hits to regain the lead. Mengden gave up a single to Yonder Alonso and then walked Mike Zunino to put two men on with no out. A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Mengden from the game. Mengden received a tremendous ovation from the fans as he exited. Ryan Dull was brought in to face another former Athletic, Danny Valencia. Valencia thanked the M’s for trading for him when he slugged his 15th dinger of the year to put his new team in the lead 5-3. The Mariners added another run before the A’s get the final out of the inning.
The Mariners’ bullpen did its job as they allowed just three hits and no runs in the last 3 and 2/3rds innings of the game. The M’s win 6-3.
Game Notes- With the two home runs, the A’s have now hit 228 for the year. The A’s are 14-5 in their last nineteen games. The A’s did not commit an error Tuesday night for the eighth straight game, a season high.
The A’s finish the home season Wednesday afternoon at 12:35 pm. Kendall Graveman will pitch for the Green and Gold, and he will be opposed by Seattle’s Erasmo Ramirez.
Time of game was two hours and forty-five minutes and 13, 513 fans were on hand to watch the A’s drop their record to 72-85.
Detroit — The Oakland Athletics have been the worst road team in all of baseball several times this season. They have been strong defenders of their home field, but the road has been their nemesis. Since a major league team plays 81 of their 162 games on the road, learning to win in the other guy’s park is mandatory.
The Athletics embarked on this nine-game road trip to Boston, Philadelphia and Detroit needing to prove to themselves that they could win on the road, and that is exactly what they did.
Wednesday in Detroit was a crowing effort for the A’s
The A’s had won the first two games of the series in Detroit. They had compiled a 5-3 record on the road. With Wednesday being a day/get-away game to head back to the Bay Area, it would have been very easy to have a mental let down and just go through the motions to get out of town in order to get home.
The Athletics did not do that. They played tough. They played solid defense behind their starting pitcher Daniel Mengden. The Athletics worked to get runs when they could and they won the game.
They also swept the three-game series at Comerica Park and finished the nine-game road trip with a record of 6-3.
Manager Bob Melvin was a happy man after the win on Wednesday
Pitching dictated the ultimate outcome of the game
Athletics starter Daniel Mengden threw seven shutout innings and extended his scoreless inning streak to 16-innings which is the longest for any A’s pitcher this season. He gave up no runs on seven hits. One of the big keys to his win was the fact that he did not issue a walk. Mengden struck out four Tigers. His record is now 2-1 with an ERA of 3.30.
Ryan Dull came to relieve Mengden in the eighth inning and set the Tigers down in order. It looked like the final inning would be uneventful.
Dull came out for the ninth because Melvin was hoping to rest his overworked bullpen. Dull walked the first batter he faced — Efren Navarro. Mikie Mahtook then hit a 1-1 pitch from Dull for a double that moved Navarro up to third. Pitching coach Scott Emerson came out for a visit before Dull went back to work.
Dull struck out the next batter he faced — pinch-hitter Tyler Collins — for the first out of the inning. Andrew Romine then stepped into the box and hit a single to right that drove Navarro and Mahtook home to make it a 3-2 game.
That was all for Dull as Bob Melvin brought Liam Hendriks in from the pen. There was also an injury delay as catcher Bruce Maxwell had to come out of the game after taking a ball off the mask. He was replaced by Phegley.
Hendricks was able to get Jose Iglesias to ground into a force out that erased Romine and left Iglesias at first on the fielder’s choice. With Alex Presley batting, Iglesias moved up to second on a wild pitch. Presley struck out swinging to end the game.
Hendricks was credited with a save but more importantly he put up a “Goose Egg” meaning he did not allow a run to score.
Detroit pitching
Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez pitched six-innings and allowed just one run (earned) on three hits. He walked three A’s and struck out eight. Sanchez threw an incredible 115 pitches (68 strikes). He was also tagged with the loss, so his record falls to 3-5.
The big problem for Detroit was their bullpen failed in its effort to throw “Goose Eggs”. Daniel Stumpf took over Sanchez in the seventh inning and gave up the two-run home to Marcus Semien that was the ultimate difference maker in the game.
Joe Jimenez and Zac Reininger each worked an inning of relief for Detroit and both posted “Goose Eggs” in the run column.
A’s batters
Marcus Semien was the man for Oakland in the big win on Wednesday. He not only hit the game deciding two-run home run in the seventh inning, but Semien posted all three of the Athletics RBI. In the series, he went 4-for-10 and scored four runs.
Catcher Bruce Maxwell went 2-for-4 in the game with a double and two runs scored. He is now hitting .315 in day game versus .205 under the lights. Guess who is catching the day games? Also, the initial reports are that Maxwell does not appear to have a concussion from the foul tip that caused him to leave the game in the ninth inning.
The Athletics scored three runs on six hits and left seven men on base. Their record improved to 69-83.
Detroit hitting
Nicholas Castellanos hit a single in the sixth inning which extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games. He hit .346 against the A’s in 2017.
Efren Navarro hit a single in the second inning that upped his hitting streak to five games. He now batting .400 — 6-for-15 — with a double and triple during the streak.
The Tigers posted two runs off nine hits and left eight runners on base. They also committed two errors. Detroit’s record now stands at 62-90.
Up next
The Athletics left for the Bay Area right after the game and will have Thursday off. The A’s begin a three-game series in Oakland with the Rangers on Friday night. RHP Kendall Graveman (5-4, 4.39) is scheduled to start for the Athletics. Texas has not named their starter.
The Tigers continue their homestand on Thursday as they begin a four-game series with the Twins.
Chad Pinder celebrates his second HR of the night Photo: Jordan Chapin Sports Radio Service
by Charlie O. Mallonee and Jordan Chapin
The Oakland Athletics had not swept both ends of a doubleheader since September 22, 1998 when they did it against the Detroit Tigers. The A’s ended that drought on Saturday as they swept the doubleheader from first-place Houston Astros (86-56).
Oakland won the second game 11-4 after having won the first game 11-1. You are not reading a typographical error. The last-place Oakland Athletics (62-80) just outscored the Houston Astros — the team with best record in the American League — 22 to 5 in a doubleheader.
The two victories also mean that the Athletics have won the opening three games of this four-game series with the Astros. No matter what happens on Sunday, the A’s have won this series with Houston.
The Athletics are now 41-33 at home for 2017 season. That means they have matched the Astros home win total for the season. Only Baltimore and Boston have more wins at home in the American League than do the Oakland A’s.
The big problem for the Athletics is they are 21-47 on the road which is the worst road record in the Major Leagues.
Game Two
Daniel Mengden took the mound for the A’s in the nightcap. After being with the big club briefly early in the year, Mengden spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Nashville. The A’s have always had big hopes for Mengden but things have not worked out the way either party would have liked things to go.
Saturday Mengden worked six innings giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits. He struck out four Astros, walked two and gave up one home run. Manager Bob Melvin was pleased with his starter’s performance.
The outing was also Mengden’s longest of the year in the majors. He went just 3.1 and 4.2 innings in his two previous starts at the beginning of the season.
On the hill
Oakland
The game got very shaky for the A’s when the bullpen took over in the seventh inning. Sam Moll faced two batters and gave up a double to Carlos Beltran followed by a single to Brian McCann that moved Beltran to third. That was all for Moll who would be charged with an earned run after Beltran scored on a sacrifice fly.
Chris Hatcher 1-1) took over for Moll and ultimately picked up the win in the game. He not only shut down the scoring in the seventh, but he pitched a scoreless eighth inning as well. Managers love relievers who can post “Goose Eggs” in the score book.
Santiago Casilla worked the ninth inning and also put up a “Goose Egg” (zero runs) on no hits with one strike out and one walk.
Houston
Brad Peacock (10-2, 3.05) made the start for the Astros and had the game under control until the sixth inning when the A’s figured him out. Peacock went 5.0-innings giving up two runs (both earned) on five hits while striking out nine. Matt Olson’s two-run home run in the sixth chased Peacock from the game. He did not figure in the final decision.
The Astros used four relief pitchers and they all broke the rule of the “Goose Egg”. Each reliever gave up at least one run. Michael Feliz gave up four. It was a bloodbath.
Chris Devenski (8-4) took the loss. For those of you who are still into antiquated stats, he was also charged with blown save number six of the season.
In the batter’s box
Franklin Barreto scores go ahead run in the seventh inning Photo: Jordan Chapin Sports Radio Service
Athletics
So many stories — so little time.
Boog Powell went 2-for-4 with three Rbi and a run scored
Chad Pinder hit two home runs in the game (13,14). One home run tied the game and the other just “Wowed” the crowd.
Matt Olson went 2-for-4 with a home run, run scored and two Rbi.
Franklin Barreto was 2-for-4 with a triple, Rbi and two runs scored.
Oakland scored 11 runs on 14 hits. They were 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The A’s left just four runners on base.
Boog Powell rounds the bases after his home run Photo: Jordan Chapin Sports Radio Service
Astros
Carlos Beltran went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored.
Josh Reddick (1-for-3) extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Jose Altuve hit his 10th career home run against the A’s in the sixth inning. He was 1-for-4 with two runs and an Rbi in game two.
Star of the doubleheader has to go to the Athletics Matt Olson
The rookie first baseman went 4-for-7 in the two games with a home run (16), a double, two Rbi and two walks. Olson is one of the big reasons the A’s feel their future is very bright.
Mired in a funk, stuck in last place, and headed nowhere fast, the A’s came out swinging on Saturday.
And this time, all that swinging had the desired effect on the outcome of the game, as the A’s rolled to a 10-4 win over the Nationals that ended a rough week of six losses in seven games.
With one-third of the season in the books, the A’s have firmly established themselves among the AL’s best home run hitting clubs with 82 homers in 55 games. But hitting home runs has not translated into winning games: after Saturday’s victory, the A’s are just 23-21 when they hit at least one home run.
In fact, not hitting home runs is a truer indicator for these A’s: only once in 55 games have they won without a home run. Oakland’s 1-10 when hitting no home runs.
When you don’t catch the ball, pitch consistently, or hit for average, yeah, even the game’s most powerful act can get obscured. That just wasn’t the case on Saturday: Ryon Healy and Jed Lowrie homered in the first inning off former Athletic Tyson Ross’ younger brother, Joe Ross, and the A’s cruised past the NL East leaders.
Healy would go on to homer a second time in the seventh, and smash a pair of doubles, all part of the best all-around day of his career. Afterwards, manager Bob Melvin said the performance shows why he so bullish on his young infielder: Healy’s passionate, plenty emotional, but resilient and a authentic student of the game.
“It’s been a little bit of a tough time for him, especially defensively,” Melvin said. “But then (Healy) ends up making a great tag on what ends up being a big out at third on the replay. He’s a tough-minded kid, got a lot of ability, but still kind of new at the big league level, still developing, but boy, he can really hit.”
Healy’s feat of four extra bases in one game hadn’t been accomplished by an Oakland player since July 2009 by Matt Holliday. And he was on everything: he took advantage of hitters’ counts on three of his hits, but he also rapped reliever Jacob Turner’s 0-2, 96 mph fastball for a double in the fifth. In the seventh, with Turner laboring through a fourth inning of relief, Healy sent his batting practice fastball careening off the center field camera platform.
“You can’t miss good pitches to hit,” Healy said.
In the seventh, Daniel Murphy doubled off Daniel Coulombe, and was initially ruled safe at third, ahead of a bang-bang tag by Healy. But the review revealed the opposite, and Murphy was ruled out, short circuiting a Nats’ rally, with them trailing by three runs at that point.
The A’s registered a season-high ten runs, one day after losing by ten to red-hot Washington. Starter Daniel Mengden benefited by Bryce Harper’s final game of suspension, and a day off for hard-hitting Anthony Rendon, which weakened the lineup of baseball’s highest-scoring team. Still, Mengden ran into trouble in the fifth, when he was lifted with a pair of runners aboard, and Adam Lind–who had connected for a three-run homer earlier–coming up.
With reliever Liam Hendricks on the mound, Lind walked to load the bases, but Michael Taylor struck out to end the inning. Hendricks pitched the sixth as well, and picked up the win.
On Sunday, the A’s have Sonny Gray on the mound in a matchup with the Nats’ Tanner Roark at 1:05pm.
AP photo: Oakland A’s third baseman Ryon Healy (48) celebrates the four game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with Matt Olson (back) Thursday night at Kaufman Stadium
Kansas City, Mo – The Amazin’ A’s swept the four-game series with the Kansas City Royals as they pounded them again 14-5. The A’s, without question, played the spoiler role as they just about ended any hope that the Royals may have had about making the playoffs this year. The Royals, defending World Series Champs, did not look like the team that won the AL Pennant in 2014 and the World Series crown last year. The A’s manhandled their pitching as they outscored the Royals 43-12 in the series. The A’s starter, Daniel Mengden, pitched effectively Thursday night, and he recorded his second win of the season. Mengden went seven innings and allowed no runs and just three hits. He struck out six and did not walk a single batter. J.B. Wendelken pitched a scoreless eighth inning and lefty Dillon Overton was roughed up for five runs in the bottom of the ninth. Bob Melvin had someone warming up just in case, but Overton was able to get the final out of the game.
The A’s scored the first run of the game in the top of the second to start the ball rolling. With two out, Ryon Healy and Marcus Semien hit back to back doubles for the score. The A’s continued to attack the offerings of Edinson Volquez as they plated five more runs in the third. Joey Wendle singled. Volquez walked Danny Valencia to put men on at first and second with no out. Stephen Vogt doubled down the right field line to drive in both runners. After a walk to Yonder Alonzo, Ryon Healy hit a mammoth home run to put the A’s in the lead 6-0. Healy’s ball traveled an estimated 480 feet.
The A’s scored three more times in the fourth. Vogt drove in a run when he walked with the bases loaded. Khris Davis doubled to drive in two more and Royals’ manager Ned Yost removed Volquez from the game trailing 9-0. The A’s continued the onslaught. They added two more in the sixth when Vogt unloaded with a man on board to up the lead to 11-0. The A’s hitters kept blasting away and sustained the night of torture for the Royals and their fans when Marcus Semien hit his twenty-fifth of the season with two men on to make it a 14-0 game.
The Royals score five times in the bottom of the ninth but it was too little, too late and the A’s completed their first sweep of a four-game series since 2012 when they turned the trick against the Cleveland Indians
Game Notes- Hitting stars were Joey Wendle, Stephen Vogt, Ryon Healy, Khris Davis and Marcus Semien. Wendle had four singles in six tries. Vogt had a double, RBI walk and a home run. Healy had a double and a monster three-run dinger as did Marcus Semien. The A’s had just one three-run dinger in September until this series with the Royals. They had four in this series.
The A’s travel to Arlington, Texas where they will play the Texas Rangers over the weekend. The Rangers own the best record in the AL, and they will not take the A’s lightly as they want to have home-field advantage throughout the playoff. Kendall Graveman will pitch for Oakland Friday night and the Rangers’ ace, lefty Cole Hamels, will try to shut the suddenly potent A’s offense down. The game will start at 5:05 PM PT.
A’s manager Bob Melvin used the word relentless to describe the Boston Red Sox, but this time it isn’t a weathered sports cliché. When it comes to facing the A’s, the Red Sox really are relentless.
The A’s fell for the fifth consecutive time to the sock ’em Sox on Saturday night, and actually achieved a season-best in terms of runs allowed, losing just 11-2. In the first four meeting with Boston, the A’s allowed 56 runs, and at least 13 in each game.
“Teams that take a lot of pitches and make you throw a lot of pitches, it’s like a boxer. Just body blows and body blows and then they give you a good one,” Melvin said.
Before the A’s could manage their first hit–that didn’t come until the sixth inning against Red Sox’ starter Rick Porcello–Boston put up nine runs. The body blows Melvin described came in the third when the Red Sox scored seven runs, all seven with two outs.
A’s starter Daniel Mengden, recalled from AAA Nashville to make the start, didn’t survive that third inning. So far in his career, Mengden’s no fan of pitching in the Coliseum, he fell to 0-5 in home starts, tying an undesirable team record by losing his first five career decisions at the Coliseum joining Dallas Braden and Steve Ontiveros on that list.
The Red Sox pounded out 17 hits, with Mengden allowing eight of those, highlighting the issues the A’s ragged bullpen have had with Boston this season. One night after the bullpen threw 187 pitches, three A’s relievers actually kept things respectable, led by Chris Smith, who got the team through four innings himself, allowing just one run.
Porcello retired the first 15 hitters he faced, with some impressive defense behind him, and picked up the win, his major league-leading 19th. Porcello’s enjoyed success against everyone he faced this season, not just the A’s, as he became the first Red Sox pitcher in their long history to win 19 times in 22 decisions.
The Red Sox third straight win allowed them to gain a tie atop the AL East with the Blue Jays, with both teams two games ahead of the Orioles. All three teams would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today, but instead will jockey head-to-head with at least six meetings between each of the teams still remaining in the last month of the season.
The A’s fell 21 games under .500 with the loss, their fifth straight, further illustrating two clubs heading in opposite directions. The A’s managed five hits after Porcello blanked them over the first five innings, but they rank last in the AL in runs scored after the abbreviated offensive effort.
CANSECO RETURNS: Jose Canseco made his rounds at the Coliseum on the night the team honored the slugger with a bobblehead giveaway. When asked if MLB has toughened its stance against performance-enhancing drugs, he lauded the league for its efforts, saying the risk/reward no longer makes it prudent to experiment with PED’s given the stringent penalties in place.
OAKLAND–The Pittsburgh Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics on Sunday with a 6-3 victory. The A’s finished their five-game homestand with a record of 1-4. Their record at home dropped to 17-26 for the year.
The A’s took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning of the game. Daniel Mengden was pitching well and it appeared that A’s might be on their way to breaking the losing streak. The Pirates came back and tied the game in the top of the fifth inning.
The Athletics scored a run and regained the lead 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning raising the hopes of the fans that a win was coming on Sunday. The Pirates brought eight men to the plate in the sixth inning and scored two more runs to go back in front of the A’s 4-3.
The Pirates tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning when David Freese hit a two-run home run over the right field wall to make the final score 6-3 in favor of Pittsburgh.
Francisco Liriano (5-8) was the winning pitcher. The loss was charged to Daniel Mengden (1-4). Mark Melancon picked up his 24th save of the season.
In the Batter’s Box
Coco Crisp went 2-for-5 for A’s with a RBI. The two hits extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Both of his hits were singles. Crisp’s average is now .247.
Khris Davis had a good afternoon working as the Designated Hitter. Davis went 2-for-4 including a double and a run scored. Davis now has 11 doubles for the year.
Billy Butler got the start at first base today and had some success at the plate. Butler hit a double that was good for a RBI in second inning. In that same inning, Butler scored a run for the A’s.
The A’s scored three runs on 10 hits. They left seven men on base and were 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The A’s had four extra base hits – all doubles.
DH Gregory Polanco was the man at the plate for the Pirates on Sunday. Polanco went 2-for-4 with two RBI. He leads the Pirates with 47 RBI.
David Freese who came into the game a pinch hitter in the sixth inning and remained in the game hit his eighth home run of the year in the eighth inning. It was a two-run shot into the right field stands.
Adam Frazier had a 2-for-4 game that featured a double and a triple. Frazier had two RBI and scored a run for the Bucs.
The Pirates scored six runs on 11 hits. They left nine men on base and were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
On the Bump
Daniel Mengden – one of the A’s rookie young guns – started the game on Sunday looking for his second victory of the season. Things started off well for the man with the classic mustache. He did give up a hit in each of the first three innings but he also struck out three batters while allowing no runs. The A’s staked Mengden to a two-run lead and it looked like Oakland might be on their way to breaking their three-game losing streak.
Things fell apart for Mengden in the fifth inning as he gave up two runs on two hits. The Pirates were aided by a walk, a hit batsman and fielder’s choice that turned into a run.
Things continued to go downhill for Mengden in the sixth inning as the Pittsburgh scored two more runs on just two hits including a RBI triple by Adam Frazier. Mengden also issued two more walks in the inning and did not finish the frame. Marc Rzepczynski and Liam Hendriks came in to close out the inning.
Mengden worked 5.1 innings giving up four runs (all earned) on seven hits. He struck out five batters and walked four. Mengden threw 99 pitches (65 strikes).
As if things are not going bad enough for the A’s, relief pitcher Fernando Rodriguez took the mound in the top of the eighth inning and had to exit the game after facing one batter. Manager Bob Melvin said it appears to be a shoulder strain. Rodriguez will have a MRI done on the shoulder. Melvin indicated that a trip to the disabled list is a possibility.
Francisco Liriano had one of his better outings of his recent starts. Liriano sat the side down in order in the first inning before giving up two runs on three hits in the second inning. He then settled down and had another one, two, three-inning in the third. After giving up a run on three hits in the fifth, Liriano’s day was over for the Pirates.
Liriano gave up three runs (all earned) on six hits in 5.0 innings on the mound. He struck out two and walked one batter. Liriano threw a total of 88 pitches (53 strikes).
In the Field
The A’s did not commit an error in the game on Sunday. That extends the A’s errorless streak to nine games.
Coco Crisp had a busy day in center field as he recorded four put outs.
Tyler Ladendorf made a very nice play on ground ball off the bat of Adam Frazier in the eighth inning. Ladendorf had to slide to his right on the outfield grass to field the ball and threw the ball from a seated position to throw Frazier out at first.
Game Notes
The A’s have placed catcher Josh Phegley on the 15-day disabled list for a strained right knee. Oakland now has nine players on the disabled list. The team has used the DL 18 times this season … Catcher Matt McBride has been called up from Triple-A Nashville to take Phegley’s place on the roster. This is McBride’s third call-up to Oakland this season. He has appeared in eight games for the big club and is batting .222.
The A’s challenged a call at first in the top of the fourth inning. Starling Marte hit a ground ball on the right side of the infield that was fielded by A’s first baseman Billy Butler. Butler underhanded the ball to pitcher Daniel Mengden covering the bag. First base umpire Gerry Davis called Marte safe. The fan who had six beers and had only one eye opened sitting in the upper deck jumped out of his seat in disbelief. It took the replay officials in New York only 54-seconds to overturn the Davis call and declare Marte out.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was ejected from the game in bottom of the sixth inning of the game by home plate umpire Sam Holbrook. It appeared the ejection was for arguing ball and strike calls.
Up Next
The A’s will close out the unofficial first-half of the season with a seven-game road trip. They will travel tonight to Minneapolis where they will play three games with the Twins. Oakland then travels to Houston where they will open a four-game series on Thursday with the Astros before heading home for the All-Star Break.
AP photo: The Texas Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara tries chasing down a double hit by the A’s Max Muncy to break up a no hitter by Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday
OAKLAND–The Texas Rangers defeated the A’s Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum by a score of 5-1. The Rangers’ starter Colby Lewis had won the last four consecutive games he started against the A’s before the start of play Thursday. Lewis dominated the A’s as he was perfect for seven and two-thirds innings. He walked Yonder Alonso in the eighth but was still working on a no -hitter in the ninth. A’s right Fielder Max Muncy broke up the no-no with a double off the right field wall. Nomar Mazara made a valiant effort to catch the ball but he hit the wall, and the ball dropped safely to the ground. Coco Crisp ruined the shutout when he doubled to drive in Muncy with the A’s lone run.
The Rangers scored two in the seventh. Mengden had retired fifteen in a row before Ranger center fielder Ian Desmond hit an opposite field home run. The Rangers scored another run and Mengden was done for the day. He left the game trailing 2-0. He went six and two-thirds innings and allowed just two runs and four hits. The Rangers sent eight men to the plate in the seventh and in the eighth, they sent eight more men to the plate and scored three times to take a 5-0 lead.
Game Notes – The A’s have lost three straight games and ten of the last twelve. Their record drops to 27-39 and are twelve games under .500 and will continue to reside in last place in the AL West.
Daniel Mengden made his first career start at home and, although he pitched well, his record is 0-2. Skipper Bob Melvin said he should be 2-0. “It was unfortunate that he pitched that well and did not get a win. ”
Melvin commented that he was pleased with Aaron Dull’s performance as he came into the game and struck out two to end the Ranger threat. He has not allowed any of the twenty-eight inherited runners to score this season.
Melvin then commented this about Colby Lewis, ” Lewis always pitches well against us.” He is “tough to handle and that he is a serious thorn in our side.”
The Los Angeles Angels will play the A’s three times over the weekend. Kendall Graveman will pitch for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Matt Shoemaker. Game time is at 6:30 PM and there will be a fireworks show after the game.
Time of game was two hours and thirty-five minutes, and 14,236 watched the terrific pitching duel between Lewis and Mengden.
The following is a Media Release from the A’s.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Media Release
Oakland Athletics Baseball Company 7000 Coliseum Way Oakland, CA 94621 510-638-4900 http://www.athletics.com A’s PR on Twitter @AsMediaAlerts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2016, A’s Agree to Terms with Four from First-Year Player Draft
OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A’s agreed to terms with four players from the 2016 First-Year Player Draft today, including their third round selection, catcher Sean Murphy from Wright State. The A’s also agreed to terms with third baseman JaVon Shelby (5th, Kentucky), center fielder Tyler Ramirez (7th, North Carolina) and right-handed pitcher Nolan Blackwood (14th, Memphis).
Murphy hit .287 with six home runs, 34 RBI and 38 runs scored in 39 games with Wright State this year to earn Second Team All-Horizon League honors. He also walked 25 times for a .408 on-base percentage. Wright earned first-team All-League honors in 2015 and was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2014.
Shelby hit .212 with 12 home runs and 35 RBI in 54 games for Kentucky and finished third in the SEC in home runs. He was a First-Team All-SEC selection in 2015 and was named to 2014 All-SEC Freshman team in 2014. Shelby is the son of John Shelby, who played 1036 games in 11 seasons in the majors with Baltimore (1981-87), the Dodgers (1987-90) and Detroit (1990-91).
Ramirez hit .333 with eight home runs and 47 RBI in 54 games with North Carolina. He led the Tar Heels in home runs, walked (50), slugging percentage (.540) and on-base percentage (.482) and was a second-team All-ACC selection.
Blackwood was 3-4 with seven saves and a 3.76 ERA in 27 relief appearances for Memphis. He set Memphis career records for saves (24) and games pitched (83), while compiling a 2.32 ERA.
The A’s have now signed or agreed to terms with 28 of their 41 selections from the draft, including 12 of the first 15.
The A’s ninth consecutive loss on the road didn’t look much different from their eighth. Staked to an early, 1-0 lead, the Oakland starting pitcher needed to be perfect, but wasn’t, losing 2-1 to the Reds on Friday night and again on Saturday afternoon.
But there was one significant difference between the ballgames: Houston native Daniel Mengden, making his first major league appearance as the A’s starting pitcher, looked resplendent with his Rollie Fingers-like, handlebar mustache.
So much for the ever-present battle of style over substance. The A’s haven’t displayed much substance lately, losing their last seven ballgames while scoring just 15 runs total. That’s two runs or fewer in five of those seven contests.
Only five big-league clubs have faced a right-handed starting pitcher more frequently than the A’s (48 times) and there’s a reason. The A’s just don’t matchup against righties, ranking second-worst in the AL by a Bill James-created stat that quantifies a team’s offensive value. Less complicated is the fact that Oakland lost for the 30th time when facing a right-handed starter on Saturday, only the Twins have lost more (34 times) in that situation.
What’s worse, Saturday’s right-handed starter, the Reds’ Dan Straily, is a familiar face, having made 41 starts for Oakland from 2012-2014. Since then, Straily has bounced around, making 15 starts for the Reds, Cubs and Astros, but winning just four times. Of course that fourth win came against the A’s, as Straily was efficient on Saturday, going seven innings, allowing five hits and a run.
After Danny Valencia knocked in Coco Crisp to give the A’s the early 1-0 lead, Straily retired nine straight batters (with five strikeouts) before the A’s mounted a rally in the fourth. But with the bases loaded and two outs, center fielder Tyler Holt made a diving catch on a ball in front of him, to retire Billy Burns and end the inning.
Like Straily, Mengden made the fast track to the big leagues, having not pitched above AA before his major league-debut on Saturday. The Texas A&M product was distinctive not just for his mustache, but his exaggerated windup with the leg kick and his arms above his ahead before the release. All the newfangled stuff appeared to work, but Mengden fell in trouble in the third, walking Joey Votto ahead of Jay Bruce’s long two-run shot.
It was Bruce’s 14th homer of the year, but his sixth in the last two weeks.
The A’s look to avoid the sweep on Sunday with Kendall Graveman facing the Reds’ John Lamb at 10:10 PST.
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